Posts Tagged ‘happy people’

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Happy New Year 2009!

Exciting New Changes Are Coming With The New Year…

Happiness·Hope·Change – HappinessHopeChange.com – Celebrating our January 20th Inauguration and the messages and lessons it carries

–  and  –  Resolve To Be Happy – ResolveToBeHappy.com – sharing specific steps to turn Happiness Resolutions into powerfully effective Happiness Solutions

have been added to the HappinessHabit.com website.

During 2009 we’ll continue to develop specific Happiness subject web sites targeted to address specific needs, uses and desires.

As you know, HappinessBlog.com has evolved and changed significantly through the years.

Our first postings in 2005 described basic Happiness Habits and the important tenets for living a happy, spiritually successful life.

Having covered Happiness Habits both here and in other postings through the years, HappinessBlog.com  began to emphasize current Happiness news, research and events.

New readers may not want to dig back several years to read our initial happiness postings. We’ll leave them in place in their original form to preserve the links.

We will also rewrite and refocus many of our materials in new and exciting ways during 2009 to focus on specific needs and uses.

Our more contentious commentary regarding current Happiness research and coverage will be migrated to a separate site with a new name.

HappinessBlog.com will return to it’s powerfully positive theme and tone.  We’ll try to keep abreast of news items supported by permanent links to happiness materials that could be of interest and help to large groups of people.

We hope you will enjoy the new look, tone and approach for HappinessBlog.com during the coming year!

Very best New Year’s wishes,

Michele Moore and the
Happiness Habit Team

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Happiness Expanding & Updated

We’ve not been silent the past few months!

HappinessHabit.com
has expanded and embraced and exciting new scope and look!

We’ll be emphasizing Happiness In Hard Times – How To Be Happy When Times Are Tough & Help Others To Be Happy Too in coming months.

See new postings:
Breaking Blocks To Learning
on
Happiness Habits For Families
and
Seven Steps to Seeing Communications Clearly
and the
Power of Truth
on
Fight With Finesse.

Explore HappinessHabit.com to expand and enhance your happiness!

Copyright © 2008, Michele Moore.  All Rights Reserved. This material may NOT be published, broadcast, distributed or rewritten without permission from the authors.

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Positive Psychology Can Be Dangerous!

Blind Smiley FacePositive Psychology is very popular in American academia today.

Positive psychologists believe we can all be happy or happier by being more positive.

They suggest we substitute more positive judgments for negative ones, spend time on Gratitude Lists and journal good things that happen in our lives.

They believe the more time we spend focusing on positives over negatives, the happier we will be.

They preach the Gospel of Learned Optimism, that we can learn to be more optimistic in our assessments of life and be happier.

The Positive Psychology Happiness Formula is:
Positive Judgments => Produce Happiness
Negative Judgments => Mean Misery
Therefore More Positive Judgments Mean More Happiness

While there is some truth to this statement (it is a variant of the First Law of Happiness – Our Focus Determines Our Feelings) they overlook a number of key points:

The first is optimism can cause us to overlook or ignore important danger signals and warning signs that help us thrive and survive. We are told we just need to be more positive, to see more benefits and fewer threats. This can be dangerous.

The Happiness Habit model is very different. Habitually Happy people assess reality very accurately and take decisive and often very creative action. Once they are confident they have made good decisions, they put the full force of positive expectations behind their plans and drive to excel and do well.

They know the dangers of excessive optimism and react accordingly.

More importantly, Habitually Happy people don’t ignore misery. They know misery has messages and meaning.

Misery Is Meant To Make Us Move

Misery is meant to make us move and take action – it is a signal something needs to change or is changing.

Misery means we need to change what we are doing, how we think, how we feel or all perhaps all three. If our world is changing, we need to change to adapt, adjust and end our misery.

Stuffing, ignoring or replacing negative signals with learned optimism is not a universal route to happiness and spiritual success.

When our heart, gut, soul and being are screaming something is wrong, it’s not wise to try to pretend everything is fine.

Examine those negative feelings, understand what they are saying and react accordingly.  Are threats real or merely effects of past conditioning, environment and experience?  Can we turn those negatives into positives?

Assess Reality Accurately. Explore and Appreciate What Negative Feelings Are Trying to Say.

Be Decisive, Make Effective Decisions.  Put The Full Force of Positive Expectations Behind All Your Plans.

Use a Drive To Excel and Do Well to Propel You to Happiness and Spiritual Success.

Try To Enjoy and Make The Most of Each and Every Moment.
Be Realistic, Not Blind.

See HappinessHabit.com for more information about happiness and spiritual success.

Copyright © 1999-      Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved. This material may NOT be published, broadcast, distributed or rewritten without permission from the authors.

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Is Happiness for Everyone?

Steve Jobs photoThe path to happiness is universal, open to everyone, everywhere.

But is making happiness our top priority right for everyone?

Should we all put happiness first in our personal, family and business lives or do other priorities weigh in as more important?  That’s for each of us to decide.

For some of us other things are more important than happiness… security, social significance, power, prominence, or perhaps creativity or making a lasting, important, indelible impact or contribution.

The world is a far richer, more delightful place because of Steve Jobs. His vision and determined dedicated leadership have changed the world.  One would not say he has taken the traditional route to happiness.

No doubt he has achieved great happiness but in different, unusual ways.

We all can’t be Steve Jobs and Steve Jobs needs the rest of us doing what we are doing for his business model to succeed.

There are many different paths to happiness, but the qualities and characteristics of a happy life remain constant.

Money, success and power take precedence over happiness for many people. Many people could easily have both if the knew how to balance the two.

Greatness in any field requires sacrifices, but it also definitely has its rewards.

We can be happy and great at what we do.  The truly great allow happiness to help propel their exuberant zeal to excel and do well.

Explore HappinessHabit.com for additional happiness resources.

Copyright © 1999-    , Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved. This material may NOT be published, broadcast, distributed or rewritten without permission from the authors.

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Happiness and Greatness

Happiness and GreatnessA Drive to Do Well and Excel Are Keys to both Happiness and Greatness!

Habitually happy people want to do their best, feel their best, be their best all the time.

They also continually and creatively look for ways to make their best even better.

This is the same mindset described as the keys to Greatness by Fortune Magazine.

The article discusses recent studies of people who have excelled in their sport or profession, examining what it takes to be great.

The good news is… greatness in a skill, sport or profession does not come from natural talents or gifts. Greatness is open to any and all of us.

Greatness comes from rugged, rigorous hard work and a determined drive and desire to continually improve our skills.

The same principles hold true for happiness.  By continually and creatively finding ways to live more happily and successfully, we can grow our happiness and spiritual success.

For more insights and happiness resources see  HappinessHabit.com 

Copyright © 1999-    , Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved. This material may NOT be published, broadcast, distributed or rewritten without permission from the authors.

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CBS’s Katie Couric – Daniel Gilbert on Happiness

happykatiecouric3.jpgUPDATE

CBS removed Gilbert’s second quote* from the CNBSnews.com website after we received his angry email.

Our comments had impact!

Katie Couric’s interview today with “Stumbling on Happiness” author Daniel Gilbert shares revealing insights into how psychologists view happiness.

Here are Dr. Gilbert’s closing comments:

“This interview has, of course, been the single happiest experience of my entire adult life,” says Gilbert.

“I’d have to say that I am especially happy when my 4 year old granddaughter and I spread the tinker toys out on the living room floor and build a geebenfloober. Neither of us has any idea what a geebenfloober is, but it’s really fun to say with a mouthful of pretzels.”

Conspicuously absent were any steps people can take to live happier, more fulfilling lives, like…

Be Guided By Goodness, Fuel Your Life With Fun, Your Aim Determines Your Achievements, Avoid All Unnecessary, Non-Productive Negativity and the Fault Finding Feel Goods, Focus On How You Want To Feel, Drive Discipline With Desire, Live According To Your Aspirations Not Your Inclinations, Touch People With A Positive Spirit, Live By Only The Highest And Best Values, Be Driven By Desire Not Duress, Love Propels Happiness.

Psychotherapists have major investments in treating disease. Growing happiness does not necessarily further their goals.

*Gilbert begins by saying, “in the land of plenty, plenty of people are unhappy and want to know why.”

He seems to view unhappiness as something that is wrong, as a disease, not as a negative state that can be changed and overcome by thinking and acting in new or different ways.

Don’t look to psychologists or psychotherapists for compelling insights about happiness.

Instead, seek out genuinely happy people. Study and acquire their values, beliefs and ideals and then become happy like them.

Gilbert comments, “You should do some homework before criticizing others as a means of promoting your book.” Hmmm, did we really criticize? Or did we just quote him fairly from the interview and state the facts? We were certainly kind and supportive on the CBS website.

You decide.

See HappinessHabit.com for more happiness insights.

Copyright 1999-   , Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved.  Reprints.

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Happiness Choices Show Who We Are

happysunflwr.jpg“It is our choices…that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.
~ J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series

How true this is with happiness and all other facets of our lives!

Our choices reveal our beliefs, ideals and our values.

The world evaluates us by what we value.

Truly happy people are guided by goodness, love, caring and compassion. They continually focus on doing their best and being their best. Love propels their work, their lives and their happiness.

They live by the highest and best values and beliefs. Their minds and lives are founded and grounded in honesty, virtue, goodness and truth. The universe respects, admires and rewards people who try to do good things well.

People who prefer greed and malicious manipulation over integrity, compassion and goodness are only happy when they beat somebody. When they don’t win they are miserable. They must feel superior to feel good about themselves. This is the path to emptiness, material gains on occasion, but still an unhappy, meaningless life.

Love propels happiness. Wherever love and goodness are limited or lacking there is no happiness. Look around and see if the wicked appear truly happy to you. Most are very shallow, weak, empty and insecure.

See HappinessHabit.com for more happiness wisdom.

Copyright©1999-    ,  Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved.   Reprints.

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Happy People Define Themselves

happysand2.jpgHabitually happy people have a clear idea of the sort of person they want to be and become.  They want to define how they go through life and they choose their moods and attitudes very carefully. They refuse to let bad things get them down for long. A spirit of revolt and rebellion helps fuel their happiness.

“Life is too short, we need to try to enjoy every minute of it as best we can,” one commented.

Certainly, dramatically changing life circumstances can alter your long term happiness if you allow it. See today’s posting from Michigan State

Habitually happy people seem to creatively find ways to enjoy life no matter what happens to them. They don’t let bad breaks define a bad mood for long. They find ways of triumphing over difficulties spiritually and emotionally.

See HappinessHabit.com for more happiness insights.

Copyright 1999-    , Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved. Reprints.

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NBC’s Happiness, Health & Prozac

happypill.jpgYes, happy people are healthier too! Tonight NBC featured studies showing that happy people are more resistant to cold and flu viruses and lead longer lives than their less happy counterparts.

Ten Years Longer Life..

A well known study of Catholic nuns revealed that nuns who consistently wrote positive journals lived up to 10 years longer than those whose journals tended toward negative.

“If we hope, we cope. If we don’t, we mope,” one charmingly energetic 96 year old nun commented on screen. What’s the reason?

Happiness is a protector against stress.

Stress stimulates the release of cortisol, a hormone correlated with higher risks of heart disease.

Happiness counters stress, when we’re happy, we’re less stressed.

A related feature reported that more than 11 million prescriptions are written annually for anti depressant medications like Prozac and Zolof in the United States. If we chemically treat erectile dysfunction and baldness, why not bad moods?

See HappinessHabit.com for more happiness insights.

Copyright 1999 –    , Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved. Reprints.

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Happiness Habits: Your Best or THE Best?

Habitually Happy People continually try to do their best, be their best and feel their best all of the time. This is a secret to happiness. The key is, aim to do YOUR best.

When we know we have done OUR best, we can feel confident we could do no more in that specific situation. We feel comfortable with what we have done and we can let go of results knowing we have done our best.

Habitually happy people direct their lives by their own internal standards which are usually extraordinarily high. They continually try to do THEIR best, not someone else’s best.

The alternative perspective relies primarily on outside standards. Look around to see what everyone else is doing. This can lead to harsh comparisons and misery.

When other people are always better than you are, how can you possibly feel good about yourself? This perspective drives people down with their own deflating comparisons!

Other people always have to be THE BEST in order to feel good about themselves, which drives them to continually dominate and control to establish and maintain their superiority.

Superiority Separates! No one likes to be around people who always have to be better than they are. We may tolerate it from bosses because of economic necessity, but we don’t like or respect these supposedly superior people.

Habitually happy people set their own standards, they are emotionally independent and they separate people from their behaviors. This works for their view of themselves as well as their assessments of others.

When they are far better than the people around them they still strive to improve. They also feel comfortable bumbling in the company of experts because it’s a true expression of who they are and where they are at the present time. They profit and grow from their mistakes and experiences and decide to be different the next time around.

When President Jimmy Carter was a young naval officer, Admiral Rickover asked him about his grades at Annapolis. Carter answered proudly, “Sir, I graduated 59th out of a class of 820″.

Rickover replied,”Did you always do your best?”

Carter was forced to admit he had not, and the Admiral asked, “Why not?” Carter used this as the theme of his presidential campaign, and as the title of his book, “Why Not The Best?”.

Doing OUR BEST is a key to happiness and success. This allows us to set our own standards which may far exceed what is being done by others. It also gives us comfort as we begin to work our way up a long learning curve to ever greater expertise.

We feel happy and successful only when we do well based on our own internal evaluation. When we set our standards based on realistic assessments of Our Best, we are aiming at goals that are realistic, attainable and good.

Copyright 1999-   ,  Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved. Reprints.

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